NUFORC Sighting 41657

Occurred: 2005-01-25 21:45 Local
Reported: 2005-01-28 05:21 Pacific
Duration: 20 minutes
No of observers: 6

Location: Wellington (New Zealand), , New Zealand

Shape: Light
Characteristics: Lights on object

What i thought was a satellite over Porirua, Wellington, increased in speed and made zigzag and circular patterns.

First of all, i am a NZ Customs Officer and a Volunteer Firefighter and take no drugs and had not been drinking at all on the day of this event.

I had returned home from my fire station to find my Grandma, her boyfriend, my cousin, his wife, and my uncle watching a satellite fly across the night sky. There were minimal clouds and a full moon. The moon was on the horizon towards the North-East of the sky and the satellite was approximately five vertical fists-lengths above the moon.

The satellite was flying North to South at what appeared to be a normal speed compared to other satellites I had seen.

All of a sudden the satellite stopped and started flying upwards into the sky, all six of us were amazed and convinced ourselves that it was the international space-station and that it was just changing direction.

But then it stopped again, and then rapidly increased its speed, flying in zig-zag and circle patterns. It then appeared to dim and brighten every few seconds, i suspected that it was flying up and down, altering its altitude.

I managed to get two photographs taken with my digital camera, in night mode so the shutter was left open for a second or two. and also 8 seconds of video footage with the same camera. The object can be seen moving in a circular pattern in both the time lapse pics, and the video. However a skeptic could explain them as me moving the camera around while filming a bright star. I think not.

I went inside to call a friend and when i returned it had disappeared.

Posted 2005-02-08